
10 days to see many of Romania’s highlights? Sure, let’s start at the airport and work our way through this unspoilt, beautiful country.
Getting to/from Otopeni airport – Cheap and easy. Down the ramp from arrivals, get your tickets from the machine (8 lei for two – you must buy at least two in a time for some reason. You can use it either as a return or a single for two people.) Simply catch bus 783 (stamp your ticket on the bus) to the centre (it stops at both Piata Victoriei, Piata Romana and Piata Unirii).
Bucharest – Little remains of its illustrious past, but Bucharest is the beating heart of the country and a worthwhile destination for a day or two. As the second biggest building in the world after the Pentagon, the Palace of Parliament is worth a look despite its sordid link to Ceauşescu. Explore what is left of the old quarter and make sure to stop in for a beer (6 lei) at Bucharest’s oldest beer house, Caru Cu Bere. If on a budget, walk straight up to the bar and take in the decadent surrounds and live violinists. Escape the concrete by heading to Herăstrău park for an afternoon. Fortunately, getting around Bucharest is a cinch and cheap thanks to the basic but functional metro (8 lei for ten single journey tickets).
Catch a train to Sinaia from Bucharest. This is very much a worthwhile stop on the journey from Bucharest to Brasov. Many people choose to take in the surrounds and spend a few days hiking, but the real reason to visit is to see the fairytale Peles Castle. Train IR1645 leaves Bucharest’s Gare de Nord at 11:10 and arrives at Sinaia at 12:49 (38 lei).
You can get a taxi from outside the train station straight up to Peles Castle (approx 5-10 lei) or walk up (take the steps in front of the train station, then take a right up the road. Follow the path through forest and behind the small monastery (approx 45 mins).
Firstly, Peles Castle is not a castle, so don’t expect ramparts and canons. It is a palace and one of the world’s grandest at that. Magnificent spires and wooden beams decorate the outside, whilst inside has a fusion of worldy influences ranging from Italian to Moorish. Everything is decadently carved and opulently furnished. King Carol ! was not a man to do things in half measures. Depending on how you look at it, you have to fortunately/unfortunately take a guided tour to get a ganders at the interior. The basic tour (20 lei, 45 mins) seemed ample. Other more expensive tours are also possible (50 lei 1 ½ hour).
Train 3003 (33 lei) departs Sinaia at 16.49 and arrives at Brasov at 18:06 leaving ample time to take in Peles Castle and its glorious surrounds.
Hotel Adabelle proved to offer well situated, reasonably priced accomodation (although not well signposted). Mostly used by Romanians, the 130 lei a night for a double got you something better than you would find in the dorms. Brasov is a nice place to base yourself due to the wealth of sites in the surrounding area.
Spend a full day in Brasov. Take the cable car up to the top of Mount Tampa for great views (9 lei one way, 15 lei return). Getting the cable car up and walking down is recommended. See the Black Church and simply enjoy the buzzing atmosphere of the main, historic square.
An enjoyable loop of the surrounding area that takes at least two days is as follows. Take a taxi to Autogara 2 (bus station) in Brasov (6 lei from centre). Catch a bus to Rasnov. The buses have sign posts in the window that detail their itinerary so they are easy to catch. Pay on board (4 lei, half hourly, approx 40 minutes). After getting dropped off at Rasnov, take the steep walk up to the towering fortress that you will have seen on the highway in (and yes there is another Hollywood ‘Rasnov’ sign under the fort just like Brasov.) From the main square you can go through an un-signposted archway and rather simple gate. Otherwise you can follow the road around the back of the fort and walk up from that direction (the entrance is actually around the back of the fort). This way might be easier as after a little while you come to a car park where a tractor can take you the rest of the way by pulling a carriage on the back (4 lei).
Rasnov (admission 10 lei) is mostly in ruins, but well worth a visit for what feels like a lived in, historical hilltop fortress. As with much of Romania, the views are great and forested from the top and it is a pleasant place to spend an hour or so. Walk down via the path that leads down past the front of the fortress so you end up in the main square. Keep going straight (there is a tourist office on this road if you get lost) and over a bridge until you get to an unceremonious ‘pennymall’ supermarket. That corner is where the passing buses arrive. Hop on one that has the ‘Bran’ sign to continue your journey (4 lei, half hourly, approx 30 minutes).
Bran is a one street town with Romania’s possibly most famous landmark in the middle; Bran Castle (often dubbed Dracula’s castle). Of course, there is no evidence that this is the residence Bram Stoker intended to house his famous literary count in. The castle’s link to Vlad Tepes ‘the impaler’ (one of Bram’s inspirations for Dracula) is also tenuous at best. All of this seems irrelevant though as the castle does have a certain brooding atmosphere, at least from the outside. Unlike the hilltop fortress of Rasnov, Bran is completely renovated. It also sits on a mound rather than a towering hill, so access is easy. Recent price hikes have made it relatively expensive for a Romanian attraction (25 lei) and many leave disappointed by the blandness of the interior. There are no coffins or cheesy Dracula paraphanalia, but there are some interesting information boards inside (in English). It is a respectively humble castle that explains what it actually is, rather than what many want to believe.
From Bran, catch a bus to Zarnesti from the bus ‘station,’ a wooden shelter with adjoining fastfood takeaway. (8:10, 9:10, 11:10, 14:10, 18,10, 22:10, 7 lei approx 45 mins). Zarnesti is a modest town with one major asset; the Piatra Craiului National Park. Pensiune Fabius is a decent enough place to stay, just 100m around the corner form the bus stop (65 lei a room, meals 20 lei each). To get to the national park simply follow the mountains. A road runs straight up into the gorge between the mountains and the hiking trails that dot the place. The yellow marker follows a trail up to one of the peaks through a nicely wooded area. Spend however much time you want in the area and head back to Brasov (About six buses daily, we got one back at 16:50 12 lei).
From Brasov, shoot out of Transylvania to Suceava in Moldavia. Train IR 1751 leaves Brasov Station at 22:50 and arrives in Suceava at 06:45 (78 lei). Bus number 5 takes you from the train station into the centre (5 lei, get off at McDonalds). Suceava does not have a wealth of sites, but the fort and outdoor Romanian village museum are interesting enough. You can reach these via an overgrown path that runs down past McDonalds. A couple of pleasant, historical churches are also worth a look.
The real star of the show and the reason to come here, are the Bucovina Painted Monasteries; a series of monasteries unique for their frescoes that adorn both the inner and outer walls. They are tricky to visit via public transport, and really your only options are to take a tour or hire your own transport. Most places in Suceava offer a tour, but we went with Irene’s Hostel (100 lei a night for a basic double room, 120 lei each for a full day tour of the monasteries, not including lunch or entrance fees). Each monastery charges between 3-5 lei for entrance and a further ten lei photography fee. The two grandest monasteries are Voronet and Suceava,as they offer the most unique frescoes, so if you are on a budget, pay to photograph these.
Catch an early morning bus to Tirgu Mures (handily only 15 metres away from Irene’s Hostel! 8am, 52 lei, arrives at 14:45). The Ciao Hotel is right next to the bus station in Tirgu Mures which makes it very handy for day trips (139 lei for a double, including breakfast). It is approximately 5 lei to get a taxi into central Tirgu Mures, 1.5km from the hotel, or just walk. The stained glass in the Culture Palace is worth a look, displaying grandiose and vibrant images of local fairytales (10 lei).
After enjoying a while in the colourful, pleasant square of Tirgu Mures, head off to Sighisoara for a day trip. Maxitaxis depart hourly at ten to the hour from Tirgu Mures (11 lei, 1hr 15 mins). Confusingly, these do not leave from the main bus station, instead they leave from ‘autogara tam,’ a ten minute walk away.
Sighisoara is a beautiful Saxon town encapsulated in a citadel. See the three tiny museums (torture, medieval weapons, clocktower – 16 lei for all three) enjoy the freshly renovated main square and walk up the seventeenth century covered walkway to the looming church at the top of the mound. A good way to finish the day of medieval delights is a couple of hours horse riding at nearby cross country farm (http://cross-country.ro/ 70 lei per hour of horse riding, 15km from Sighisoara, they will pick up for 8 euros each way). A trek through the nearby village of Prod is about as authentic and rural as you can experience.
Return maxitaxis to Tirgu Mures leave hourly at the same time as late as 21:50. From Tirgu Mures continue your journey overland or hop on a simple 45 minute flight to Budapest to visit Hungary. Flights also go to London Luton (www.wizzair.com approx 25 lei to the airport by taxi from central Tirgu Mures).
For a more personal account of this journey please read my blog post.